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Home / Romance / Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil / Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

Lahat ng Kabanata ng Best Friend's Daddy, Billionaire Devil: Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

197 Kabanata

145

CATERINAThere's a ringing in my ears and a high-pitched squealing that makes it nearly impossible to hear anything. I can vaguely make out Gianni's shouting. My father shouts something back, but I can't make out the words. It's like trying to listen to someone speak while you're underwater.The smell of smoke tickles my nostrils. What is burning? Gianni rushes towards me, his hands cup my cheeks and I want to tell him I'm okay but I can't hear my own voice.What happened?The look on his face is pure terror, and his hands wrap tight around my arms as he pulls me through the kitchen, my Dad close behind us. Once outside, the fresh air helps a little, but I still can't put the pieces together on what happened. All I know is that my heart's pounding out of my chest, and I think I'm going to throw up.“Are you alright?” I can read Gianni's lips even if it sounds like he's talking to me from behind a closed door. He runs his hands over my arms, torso, face, and neck. “Were you injured?” I

145.1

“Who would do this?” Dad demands.“Who do you think? The same fuckers who took them.”Gianni must not see the effect his words have on us, but Dad does. He wraps an arm around me, draping the other over Tatiana's shoulders. She wraps her arms around herself and tucks her body close to his while I do the same.By now, Gianni's men are swarming the house, searching for any signs of further damage. The two men posted to the front gate come running up the drive, both shouting excuses before they reach us. “It looked legit! The guy had ID and everything!”“It was a regular UPS truck,” the second guard insists. Both of them look scared to death, pale-faced and jumpy.“Oh, it looked legit? Did the person have an ID?” Gianni's fist collides with the second man's jaw, knocking him on his ass. Tatiana lets out a whimper while I flinch at the sound of bone crunching. I'm surprised Dad doesn't react, but then he looks like he wants to take a turn throwing fists, too, his nostrils flared beneath s

146

GIANNIThere she goes. Theretheygo. She's taking part of my heart with her. I doubt I could live through sending her away with anyone else. Roger, maybe, but that's as far as it goes. Charles better hope he hasn't gotten rusty during his time away from the job, because if anything happens to her, I will paint this town in blood.A cold breeze blows over me, chilling my skin. Tatiana shivers in my arms. “Dad?” Her soft voice brings my thoughts back to her. “What should I do?”She needs me to pull my shit together. I can't upset her by blowing up now. As calmly as possible, I respond, “I want you to go to your room and pack a few things while Roger and I make plans. Okay? Can you do that for me?”“Okay. Is it safe in there?”I turn to the pair of men exiting the house, my brows lifting in a silent question. “All clear,” one of them announces. “We got what was left of the device out through the back.”“Go ahead–but don't waste any time.” With a kiss on her forehead, I send her inside wit

146.1

“Roger will take care of everything.” At a time like this, I hate to lose him. However, there is no one else I trust more guarding my daughter. “Just do me a favor and go along with what he says. No arguing.”Roger's still on the phone. He looks her up and down—no reaction to the urn—before jerking his head toward the courtyard. “Go wait in the car. I'll be out in a minute.”“Is this really necessary? What, are they going to bomb the house again?”“Listen to me.” I grab her by the shoulders and even shake her a little because, damn it, I need her to understand. “I can't do what I need to do if I'm worried about you being here. I don't know what their next move is, that's the problem. Having you safely tucked away somewhere is the only way I can focus on what needs to be done. Do you understand? I don't ask much from you, but I need you to do as Roger says. Get in the car, and we'll talk it out once you come home.”Her angry snarl drops away before her chin starts to tremble. “I'm afra

147

CATERINA“This isn’t easy for me,” my father rambles on as we reach the interstate and merge into traffic.It’s not very heavy at this time of night, and I hope we don’t end up getting stuck in a jam somewhere. The sooner we are at the safe house, the sooner I’ll be able to breathe easier. Not easy, but easier than I am now, with my heart in my throat and a sense of dread drumming in my head.“You think it’s fun for me?” I counter. “I don’t like this any more than you do.”“You have a choice. That’s what I need you to get through your head. You don’t have to go through this.” His hands tighten around the wheel, his shoulders rising as he takes a ragged breath. “He doesn’t own you. You get to make your own choices.”“I realize all of that.”“Are you sure?”The anger bubbling in his voice tells me I need to take a breath and smooth things over before we steer this conversation into dangerous territory. What I need most at this point is his support to keep me centered, and that’s not goi

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“What is he going to do?” he demands, almost leaning over the wheel. The speedometer reads eighty-five but the needle keeps drifting toward ninety. Of all the times for there to be no cops on the road, why is there no one out here to help us?The question is still running through my head when the pursuer veers to the left, then starts inching closer like he wants to come up alongside us. “Dad, he’s coming!”“I see that. Hold on.”Meanwhile the phone continues ringing, and ringing, and all it does is remind me of who’s waiting at home. How will he ever get over this? He will never stop blaming himself. If I could only reach the phone, but every time the car swerves from one side to the other my cell slides along the back seat.I glance over my shoulder and now that the lights aren’t directly behind us, I can see inside the other vehicle. It doesn’t surprise me to find Donovan Moroni behind the wheel, and it looks like he’s laughing. I could be imagining that, but I don’t think so. I kn

148

GIANNIThere is no sense of peace in the house. No hope of calm. Not while it’s crawling with guards at all hours. Not with Jack out there somewhere, plotting how he’s going to blow my world to pieces for taking his son’s life.I sent Roger home an hour ago against his wishes. He needs sleep–we both do, but I can’t imagine willing my mind to quiet down long enough for sleep to catch up to me. I would only toss and turn and wake Caterina. One of us needs to be sharp, meaning he needs a break while I pace my office or check in with the guards down at the front gate walking the perimeter. Watching. Waiting.If this goes on much longer, I don’t know how my nerves will stand it. A man in my position can expect to spend sleepless nights. I’ve lived with strain, stress, tension, to the point where I thought I was impervious. But this? Everything that’s ever mattered is at stake, and at the moment, I can’t do anything but wait for Jack to show his face. Roger’s exhausted his extensive contact

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When I don’t answer, he turns toward me. “Boss. I need you to agree with me.”“We have nothing to worry about.”“I’m going in first.” When I scoff, he slaps a palm against the glovebox. “Let me do my job. I’m not going to watch you walk into a trap. I need to check and make sure it’s safe.”“Do what you feel is best.” I’m not going to fight over something this inconsequential when I prefer imagining Jack’s agony. He kidnapped my little bird. He could’ve killed my daughter. He took her mother from her. He tried to use my unborn child against me. There is nothing painful enough for him–but that won’t keep me from trying to make him feel that pain.The warehouse sits in a quiet part of town surrounded by tall, boxy buildings with darkened windows. They cast long shadows over an empty street, and I swear I taste foreboding in the air. I couldn’t have chosen a better location for what’s about to happen. I know it is. I feel it. He’s nearby, and every breath he takes is one closer to his fi

149

“Shhhh, we'll be leaving as soon as we finish here,” Sebastian assures her in an offhanded way. She flinches before a broken sob tears its way out of her. “Just keep ahold of her while I help our guests out.”I turn my attention to Jack. He’s the reason I’m here after all. “Hello, Jack,” I murmur, coming to a stop in front of him. “It’s been too long. How’s the family?”His eyes are bloodshot, making their already icy color stand out in sharp contrast as he glares at me with pure, seething hatred. Good. Let him hate me. Let him reflect on the pain he’s endured so far. I crouch slowly, my gaze locked with his. “There’s something I want you to remember for the rest of your increasingly short life: everything that’s happened to you so far is your doing. You chose to turn this into a war. You hijacked my shipments and attacked my business. You partnered up with Amalia. You kidnapped Caterina and my daughter. You set all of this into motion. There is no one to blame but yourself for what i

150

CATERINAIdon’t know what stirs me awake. There’s no loud sound, like a gunshot. There’s nothing but the beating of my heart, racing now that something startled me.I haven’t even dreamed about shooting Donovan since the night it happened—an ugly, awful night full of all the darkest parts of my subconscious. All the what-ifs. What if I hadn’t been able to get the gun, like if I was injured the way Dad was? If we had both been unconscious when Donovan found us, that would’ve been it. We’d both be dead now. What if we had crashed hard enough to kill us? What if Donovan had killed Dad while I watched? Oh yes, I went through all the scenarios in vivid color.But that was it. Like once it was over, it was over. No more need to dredge up the memories.I don’t wake all at once. It’s not one of those sudden, eyes flying open things. At first, I’m confused. There’s light coming through the windows, faint and pale, like the sun hasn’t risen yet but will soon. Right away, I reach out without loo

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